Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Rock
Related artists: ?.
Country: Wellington NEW ZEALAND
Years Active: 2016-present
Song: "Blissful Myth"
Album: "Patriotic Grooves"
Year: 2017
For fans of: Propagandhi, The Blood Brothers, Black Flag, Hedge Fund Trader, Yung Nat$, Death From Above 1979, NOFX and Amygdala.
Related artists: ?.
Country: Wellington NEW ZEALAND
Years Active: 2016-present
Song: "Blissful Myth"
Album: "Patriotic Grooves"
Year: 2017
For fans of: Propagandhi, The Blood Brothers, Black Flag, Hedge Fund Trader, Yung Nat$, Death From Above 1979, NOFX and Amygdala.
Label(s): Self Released / Zero Style / AlwaysNeverFun / Limbless
Look at that art. Goddamn, it might be the best band art I've ever seen. Seriously.
Now, as of my pre-New Zealand move I'd never heard of UNSANITARY NAPKIN, but as soon as I got there I went to see the Onslaught 13 Fest (live videos here) and caught the band live I was smitten. Not only were they the best band I saw the fest, but I was able to hang out with Rupert (bass) who turned out to be an awesome human being.
Before I describe the band in any way, I feel like their statement on Bandcamp in regards to the content of their new 12"LP 'Patriotic Grooves' says all I could ever say and more, so take a gander:
"Patriotic Grooves is a furious vomit of frustration with a political climate polluted with hyper-capitalist bigots pretending to be the voice of the people. It’s an assault on the idea that a struggle for civil rights is no longer necessary, and it’s an exposé of the narcissistic self-aggrandising media demagogues that revel in disguising their hate-speech as common-sense while laying the conditions for fascist clowns to take power. It shines a light on the neoliberal smash n’ grab playing out in Aotearoa, which may have a blokey bbq-loving I’m-too-stupid-to-do-evil face for now, but is leading down the same path. But it’s also a rallying call for collective resistance to come from shared frustration, and a hope that we can have a good time (with a slammin’ soundtrack) while fighting to change direction.
The idea of Donald Trump's head being blasted open by a majestic winged vagina seems more relevant than ever given Trump's misogynistic comments about "grabbing" women "by the pussy". The image represents one aspect of the struggle against misogyny, patriarchal violence, and oppression. Many people are oppressed, some have vaginas and some do not. We are opposed to misogyny, transmisogyny, sexism, and cissexism in all its forms. Gender is not defined by a person's genitalia -- not to mention a whole bunch of other dichotomised characteristics. Images associated with cis-female bodies are not representative of womanhood to the exclusion of all others."
So, when checking out UNSANITARY NAPKIN the first you'll encounter is an icky band name followed by amazing art. Before you get to the music you'll likely skim across the song titles, titles which will catch anyone's attention. A few prime examples are "Chode Crystal", "Jerkin' Back 'n' Forth" and "The Balls (To Say What We're All Thinking)".
By the time you get to the music you'll already be impressed, and when that raw, sassy and political-as-fuck hardcore spews from the speakers you'll be dripping from head to toe in intellectual and satirical New Zealand punk rock. To be honest, I generally dabble in heavier, screamier and more technical hardcore, but this band is a very refreshing change for me and brings me back to my late 90s days when all I jammed was NOFX, Propagandhi, Bad Religion and Pennywise. But it also means my for fans of list is kinda garbage and there are probably a ton of people more suited to review this band than me. Alas, here I am.
So in early 2016 the band released six songs on a self titled 'Unsanitary Napkin' tape. These six songs were soon rerecorded for the LP released in late 2016 called 'Patriotic Grooves'. A few months prior to the full length's release, UNSANITARY NAPKIN dropped a digital single called 'Trumphole' which was the teaser for the LP. Therefore, I think discussing only 'Patriotic Grooves' is necessary. It opens with the very direct "Feminine Odour" and is followed by the aforementioned single "Trumphole", a much more playful jam that reminds me of Yung Nat$ and includes a few nice sing-along sections and killer bass. The hilarious "Chode Crystal" follows and sounds like it could have been written in the 1980s, and it should be noted that all of the songs have their own flavour. "Sweet Exploitation" is angry but includes a killer rock outro, "Scripted Fist" is quite long but hyperactive, "Merchants of Doubt" is even longer and reminds me of early NOFX with a female vocalist, "Jerkin' Back 'n' Forth" bridges from punk to noisy rock, "Keyhole" is short and furious, "The Balls (To Say What We're All Thinking)" has a hilarious opening clip, "Barf Out Loud" is driving and has some ridiculously frantic basslines while the closer "Insane-itary Clown Party- The Iceman Cometh" is...I don't even know. But without a doubt my favourite UNSANITARY NAPKIN song is "Blissful Myth", comes pretty close to sounding like The Blood Brothers (especially the bass/ guitar) and is danceable and hard simultaneously.
This post's artist is from the February 2018 Mix. This is track #9.
Look at that art. Goddamn, it might be the best band art I've ever seen. Seriously.
Now, as of my pre-New Zealand move I'd never heard of UNSANITARY NAPKIN, but as soon as I got there I went to see the Onslaught 13 Fest (live videos here) and caught the band live I was smitten. Not only were they the best band I saw the fest, but I was able to hang out with Rupert (bass) who turned out to be an awesome human being.
Before I describe the band in any way, I feel like their statement on Bandcamp in regards to the content of their new 12"LP 'Patriotic Grooves' says all I could ever say and more, so take a gander:
"Patriotic Grooves is a furious vomit of frustration with a political climate polluted with hyper-capitalist bigots pretending to be the voice of the people. It’s an assault on the idea that a struggle for civil rights is no longer necessary, and it’s an exposé of the narcissistic self-aggrandising media demagogues that revel in disguising their hate-speech as common-sense while laying the conditions for fascist clowns to take power. It shines a light on the neoliberal smash n’ grab playing out in Aotearoa, which may have a blokey bbq-loving I’m-too-stupid-to-do-evil face for now, but is leading down the same path. But it’s also a rallying call for collective resistance to come from shared frustration, and a hope that we can have a good time (with a slammin’ soundtrack) while fighting to change direction.
The idea of Donald Trump's head being blasted open by a majestic winged vagina seems more relevant than ever given Trump's misogynistic comments about "grabbing" women "by the pussy". The image represents one aspect of the struggle against misogyny, patriarchal violence, and oppression. Many people are oppressed, some have vaginas and some do not. We are opposed to misogyny, transmisogyny, sexism, and cissexism in all its forms. Gender is not defined by a person's genitalia -- not to mention a whole bunch of other dichotomised characteristics. Images associated with cis-female bodies are not representative of womanhood to the exclusion of all others."
So, when checking out UNSANITARY NAPKIN the first you'll encounter is an icky band name followed by amazing art. Before you get to the music you'll likely skim across the song titles, titles which will catch anyone's attention. A few prime examples are "Chode Crystal", "Jerkin' Back 'n' Forth" and "The Balls (To Say What We're All Thinking)".
By the time you get to the music you'll already be impressed, and when that raw, sassy and political-as-fuck hardcore spews from the speakers you'll be dripping from head to toe in intellectual and satirical New Zealand punk rock. To be honest, I generally dabble in heavier, screamier and more technical hardcore, but this band is a very refreshing change for me and brings me back to my late 90s days when all I jammed was NOFX, Propagandhi, Bad Religion and Pennywise. But it also means my for fans of list is kinda garbage and there are probably a ton of people more suited to review this band than me. Alas, here I am.
So in early 2016 the band released six songs on a self titled 'Unsanitary Napkin' tape. These six songs were soon rerecorded for the LP released in late 2016 called 'Patriotic Grooves'. A few months prior to the full length's release, UNSANITARY NAPKIN dropped a digital single called 'Trumphole' which was the teaser for the LP. Therefore, I think discussing only 'Patriotic Grooves' is necessary. It opens with the very direct "Feminine Odour" and is followed by the aforementioned single "Trumphole", a much more playful jam that reminds me of Yung Nat$ and includes a few nice sing-along sections and killer bass. The hilarious "Chode Crystal" follows and sounds like it could have been written in the 1980s, and it should be noted that all of the songs have their own flavour. "Sweet Exploitation" is angry but includes a killer rock outro, "Scripted Fist" is quite long but hyperactive, "Merchants of Doubt" is even longer and reminds me of early NOFX with a female vocalist, "Jerkin' Back 'n' Forth" bridges from punk to noisy rock, "Keyhole" is short and furious, "The Balls (To Say What We're All Thinking)" has a hilarious opening clip, "Barf Out Loud" is driving and has some ridiculously frantic basslines while the closer "Insane-itary Clown Party- The Iceman Cometh" is...I don't even know. But without a doubt my favourite UNSANITARY NAPKIN song is "Blissful Myth", comes pretty close to sounding like The Blood Brothers (especially the bass/ guitar) and is danceable and hard simultaneously.
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DISCOGRAPHY
2016 - Unsanitary Napkin cassetteEP (stream/donate/download here)
2016 - Trumphole digital single (stream/donate/download here)
2016 - Patriotic Grooves 12"LP (stream/donate/download here)
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(2017) UNSANITARY NAPKIN - "Blissful Myth" live @Onslaught 13
(2017) UNSANITARY NAPKIN - "new song 2" live @Onslaught 13
(2016) UNSANITARY NAPKIN - "Blissful Myth" (from 'Patriotic Grooves')
(2016) UNSANITARY NAPKIN - "Jerkin' Back 'n' Forth" (from 'Patriotic Grooves')
(2016) UNSANITARY NAPKIN - "Trumphole" (from 'Trumphole')
(2016) UNSANITARY NAPKIN - "Chode Crystal" (from 'Unsanitary Napkin')
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UNSANITARY NAPKIN additional links
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